Ọsọ Ndụ Agwụ Ike: Reimagining Igbo Cultural Resilience in a Digitalized World
Conference: The 23rd Annual International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association (ISA) (2026)
Presenter(s): Ifeyinwa Cordelia Isidienu, Anthonia C. Ephraim-Chukwu
Presentation Date: May 14, 2026 @ 15:41 PM
Tags: Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Nigeria Ifeyinwa Cordelia Isidienu Anambra Anthonia Chinyere Ephraim-Chukwu
Abstract
In the contemporary global order shaped by rapid digitalization, artificial intelligence, and shifting social identities, the Igbo worldview faces the challenge of preserving its core values while adapting to technological transformations. This paper interrogates Ọsọ Ndụ Agwụ Ike, the Igbo philosophical maxim signifying the endurance and vitality of life, as a framework for understanding and reimagining Igbo cultural resilience in the digital age. Drawing from ethnophilosophical and phenomenological approaches, the study explores how Igbo notions of ike (strength), ndụ (life), and ọrụ (productive agency) provide indigenous paradigms for negotiating change, innovation, and survival in virtual and physical communities. Data are drawn from oral traditions, proverbs, digital ethnography, and emerging diasporic online networks to show how technology simultaneously threatens and revitalizes cultural continuity. The paper argues that digital platforms, when grounded in Ọsọ Ndụ ethics, can serve as new spaces for cultural preservation, language revitalization, and collective identity building among Igbo peoples globally. It further contends that the ontological resilience embedded in Ọsọ Ndụ Agwụ Ike offers a philosophical lens for sustainable adaptation to global modernity without eroding indigenous epistemologies. By situating Igbo endurance philosophy within the discourse of digital modernity, this study contributes to debates on decolonizing technology, cultural sustainability, and the future of African knowledge systems in a connected world.
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